


Falling Slowly

by giantpanda



Category: The Good Doctor (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-15
Updated: 2020-07-15
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:55:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25283485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/giantpanda/pseuds/giantpanda
Summary: Claire and Neil's growing relationship through the eyes of one of the nurses.
Relationships: Claire Browne/Neil Melendez
Comments: 19
Kudos: 58





	Falling Slowly

As a nurse, Sarah was in unique position to see everything. She had been working at the hospital for ten years and had seen many different residents go through the program. She had seen the attendings deal with the various residents and all the drama that entailed. Dr. Murphy was a unique doctor to work with and once she adjusted to his needs, she found that she enjoyed working with him. Dr. Park always provided the nurses with donuts and was pleasant to work with. Dr. Reznick was the most challenging. Dr. Browne was her favorite. Unlike some doctors she had worked with, Dr. Browne treated her with respect and always showed her appreciation.

She’s sad to say that she wasn’t the first person to notice that chemistry between Dr. Browne and Dr. Melendez. She always enjoyed working with him even if he tended to be a little arrogant. His talent and good looks only made it worse. Once the current batch of residents started, she hadn’t paid too much attention to what was going on. Until she overheard some of the other nurses discussing a bet about when Dr. Melendez and Dr. Browne were going to get caught hooking up. Sarah had ignored it at the time, he was engaged, and she was a first-year resident. However, even she could see there was something there as she watched them during surgery. They worked together so well it was hard to believe that it had only been a few months since Dr. Browne joined the hospital.

Things continued with them working well together and other nurses gossiping about the flirting. Sarah thought it was harmless. Then one day she heard that Dr. Melendez was no longer engaged, something about Jessica not wanting children. She felt bad for him. With the engagement off, the betting took off again about how long it would take for Dr. Melendez and Dr. Browne to start sneaking around. She still didn’t think it would happen. They both seemed too professional and driven to risk their careers for a fling.

She doubted herself once she heard that Dr. Melendez had kicked Dr. Browne off his rotation. She hadn’t heard what happened, but the rumor of course was that they had a lover’s quarrel. Sarah was assigned to work with Dr. Browne’s friend Kayla and saw first hand the mutual respect the two had for each other. Even fighting, they still worked well together. She even started to wonder if maybe the two of them were more than a fling. When the other nurses asked about what was going on, she ignored it. She had no desire to take part in the gossip, although she did continue to watch.

After some time, Dr. Browne apparently apologized, although Sarah had some doubts about that, and she was back on his rotation. Then there was the quarantine, where thankfully she had been in the OR at the time. It was terrifying to think about how dangerous it had been in the ER. She had hugged her family tightly when she went home. 

She had to admit that she was thrown when Dr. Lim and Dr. Melendez announced they were together in the middle of the ER. She thought Dr. Lim was an excellent surgeon, but when she saw the two of them together in the past, she never felt the connection that she saw when he was with Dr. Browne. The other nurses were confused as well and changed their bets to how long it would take for them to break up and when he would turn to Dr. Browne. Sometimes she felt that the hospital was worse than high school.

After a while she noticed a change in Dr. Browne. She started coming to work late, Dr. Reznick was covering for her, and her usual compassion was missing. She wanted to talk to her, or ask her if she was okay, but thought better of it. She was in the OR when Dr. Melendez announced that he was no longer with Dr. Lim. She regretted not taking part in the pool for this one. She hadn’t expected it to last long. She wondered how long it would take for the conversation to return to Dr. Melendez and Dr. Browne.

She was standing by the nurse’s station, when the patient’s wife had come out and slapped Dr. Browne. Sarah had turned to ask if she was okay, but she had already headed to the stairwell. She looked up and noticed that Dr. Melendez had followed her. She knew then that she didn’t have to worry. She hadn’t seen Dr. Browne the rest of the day but had noticed that Dr. Melendez looked miserable when he returned to the floor. She learned later that Dr. Browne’s mother had died.

After that day, the betting really started to pick up. People were betting on when they would announce they were a couple, when they would be caught in an on-call room, when she would again be off his rotation because of their relationship and how long it would take before they were engaged. Again, she was struck with how much like high school this place had become.

None of the nurses had thought that someone would put in a favoritism complaint. Of course, Sarah saw that Dr. Melendez did prefer to work with Dr. Browne, but she didn’t think that was because he was showing favoritism. She thought that he picked Dr. Browne because she was the best out of all the residents and had good ideas. She had worked with plenty of doctors to know when one was extraordinary. Dr. Melendez seemed to know it too. They seemed to be so in sync in the OR, that she was really beginning to wonder if maybe they were hiding something. And if they weren’t, what was holding them back. 

She watched them as they worked together on a pediatric patient. She felt as if they were destined to have a family together. She caught the way they each looked at the other as they interacted with the toddler. She almost wondered if they needed to somehow lock them in a room together to make something happen. 

She continued to watch them as something more than friendship continued to grow. So much so that she almost got involved with the betting with the other nurses.

And then everything changed with an earthquake. Dr. Melendez was seriously injured, and it seemed that everyone was preparing to say goodbye. Everyone but Dr. Browne. She had seen Dr. Browne come out of his room in tears, and she wondered if they had admitted their feelings for each other. It broke her heart to think that they had missed all this time with each other because he was her boss. It seemed so pointless now. She fought back her own tears.

She shouldn’t have been surprised when Dr. Browne fought hard for a treatment that gave him a decent shot of survival. He would need plenty of recovery time and physical therapy, but it seemed worth it to give him a shot at living. Dr. Murphy came back from the brewery just in time to support Dr. Browne’s idea and against all odds they were able to save Dr. Melendez. She wiped away her tears of relief that they wouldn’t have to say goodbye.

She was assigned to be his nurse after his surgery, and she went to check his vitals. She wasn’t surprised when she found Dr. Browne asleep with her head on his chest. He was staring down at her with a smile on his face as he caressed her hair. She felt like she was intruding on a personal moment, but she still had a job to do. She was quiet as to not disturb them anymore than she had to. Dr. Melendez’s numbers were looking good. She marked them down and quickly left. 

At the nurses’ station, she decided that she needed to take part in the bets. She picked the day that he would return to work as the day they would go to HR. There was no doubt that they would be together now. She looked forward to seeing what happened for them next. They deserved all the happiness in the world. 


End file.
